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PHG Blog


Historic Yokosuka
Historic Museum Ship Mikasa and Statue of Togo Heihachiro - Yokosuka, Japan Yokosuka 横須賀市is my favorite navy town. The city itself...
Tony Boccia
Apr 19, 20252 min read


Book Recommendation: "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War Two" by John Dower
Greetings all, back today with another book recommendation. On this day April 28th in 1952, the Allied Occupation of Japan ended. It’s...
Tony Boccia
Apr 13, 20251 min read


On this day: IJN Yamato sunk
On this day April 7th in 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy super battleship Yamato was sunk by U.S. Navy aircraft of Task Force 58 while...
Tony Boccia
Apr 7, 20254 min read
On This Day: Operation Ten-Go departs Tokuyama for Okinawa
On this day April 6th 1945, the ships of Operation Ten-Go departed Tokuyama. The mission assigned to the super battleship Yamato, light...
Tony Boccia
Apr 7, 20251 min read
80th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa
I sent the below text in email format to the Sailors of VRM-50, marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Okinawa. I...
Tony Boccia
Apr 2, 20255 min read


Book Recommendation: "War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919"
Greetings, I have another book recommendation for you all. I firmly believe that any study of the Second World War, modern warfare,...
Tony Boccia
Mar 31, 20252 min read


A brief history of Japan to accompany the Guide
Most of the locations on the website have a brief history on their page; however there's so much detail for Japan that it didn't quite...
Tony Boccia
Mar 28, 20253 min read


Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Ise history
This is a fascinating article on the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship (later hybrid carrier-battleship) Ise courtesy of...
Tony Boccia
Mar 15, 20251 min read


Book Review: Japan's Longest Day: A Graphic Novel About the End of WWII: Intrigue, Treason and Emperor Hirohito's Fateful Decision to Surrender - Manga edition created by Yukinobu Hoshino
I've recently finished this manga, one of the better I've read, that follows the events of the last days of the Second World War,...
Tony Boccia
Mar 14, 20252 min read


On this day: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami - March 11, 2011
On this day in 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean roughly 80 miles east of Miyagi, Japan. The earthquake, the strongest in recorded Japanese history, set off a series of tsunamis that killed 18,000 throughout the northeast coast of the country. Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures had all but a hundred or so of the casualties. The tsunami that struck Fukushima knocked the power out in the Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which led to a partial meltdow
Tony Boccia
Mar 12, 20251 min read


IJN Yanagi Breakwater - Kitakyushu, Japan
Some ships live forever. Here is a breakwater in Kitakyushu, Japan that was partially made by the wreck of IJN Yanagi. Apparently part...
Tony Boccia
Mar 2, 20251 min read


Suo-Oshima Island - Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
About an hour drive south from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture is Suo-Oshima Island. There are several places...
Tony Boccia
Feb 19, 20252 min read


Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship - Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Mikasa Historic Memorial Ship and statue of Admiral Togo Heihachiro at Mikasa Park Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan. Back in November 2024, I...
Tony Boccia
Feb 17, 20252 min read


Imperial Japanese Historical sites of Tokyo - Enomoto Takeaki statue in Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Enomoto Takeaki 榎本 武揚 is one of the founding fathers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and a pivotal figure in the history of Japan.
Tony Boccia
Feb 17, 20253 min read
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